Dictionary

picturesque en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˌpɪkt͡ʃəˈɹɛsk/
• (US) audio

Etymology

From picture + -esque, a calque of French pittoresque, from picture (“a picture, painting”).

Meanings

1. Resembling or worthy of a picture or painting; having the qualities of a picture or painting; pleasingly beautiful.
   • A dear old lady said she thought the ancient castle at Conway most picturesque, but that it was a pity they put it so close to the railway! 1946 March and April, R. A. H. Weight, “Euston to the North-West”, in Railway Magazine, page 71:
   • The Australian teens, both from Melbourne, were enjoying a backpacking trip when they became ill after a night out in Vang Vieng. The picturesque rural town in northern Laos has long been a popular backpacking spot. 2024 November 21, Helen Regan' Isaac Yee, Eve Brennan, “Australian teens among six tourists dead as countries warn of suspected methanol poisonings in Laos”, in CNN, archived from the original on 05 Dec 2024:
   • We looked down onto a beautiful, picturesque sunset over the ocean.
   • A two minutes' walk brought Warwick—the name he had registered under, and as we shall call him—to the market-house, the central feature of Patesville, from both the commercial and the picturesque points of view. 1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, “A Stranger from South Carolina”, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC, page 3:
2. (broadly, figuratively) Strikingly graphic or vivid; having striking and vivid imagery.
   • picturesque language

Forms

Deriveds

unpicturesque · picturesqueness · picturesquish · picturesquely

Synonyms

quaint · scenic

Translations (51)

nl pittoresk (resembling a picture or painting) · pt pitoresco (resembling a picture or painting) · da malerisk (resembling a picture or painting) · fi kuvankaunis (resembling a picture or painting) · uk живопи́сний (resembling a picture or painting) · bg живописен (resembling a picture or painting) · nb pittoresk (resembling a picture or painting) · da pittoresk (resembling a picture or painting) · cs malebný (resembling a picture or painting) · gl pintoresco (resembling a picture or painting) · lt vaizdingas (resembling a picture or painting) · nb malerisk (resembling a picture or painting) · hu festői (resembling a picture or painting) · es pintoresco (resembling a picture or painting) · mk сликовит (resembling a picture or painting) · tr resimsi (resembling a picture or painting) · cmn 風景如畫 /风景如画 (resembling a picture or painting) · ca pintoresc (resembling a picture or painting) · fi maalauksellinen (resembling a picture or painting) · pt pinturesco (resembling a picture or painting) · sv pittoresk (resembling a picture or painting) · nl schilderachtig (resembling a picture or painting) · fr pittoresque (resembling a picture or painting) · sh pitorèskan (resembling a picture or painting) · vi đẹp như tranh (resembling a picture or painting) · io piktinda (resembling a picture or painting) · mk живописен (resembling a picture or painting) · io pitoreska (resembling a picture or painting) · he ציורי (resembling a picture or painting) · de malerisch (resembling a picture or painting) · el γραφικός (resembling a picture or painting) · hu pittoreszk (resembling a picture or painting) · uk мальовни́чий (resembling a picture or painting) · ru живопи́сный (resembling a picture or painting) · nb naturskjønn (resembling a picture or painting) · fi pittoreski (resembling a picture or painting) · ro pitoresc (resembling a picture or painting) · nn naturskjønn (resembling a picture or painting) · it pittoresco (resembling a picture or painting) · pl malowniczy (resembling a picture or painting) · cmn 繪畫般的 /绘画般的 (resembling a picture or painting) · nn pittoresk (resembling a picture or painting) · cmn 逼真 (resembling a picture or painting) · cmn 栩栩如生 (resembling a picture or painting) · tr pitoresk (resembling a picture or painting) · io pikturatra (resembling a picture or painting) · eo pitoreska (resembling a picture or painting) · cs pitoreskní (resembling a picture or painting) · yi בילדעריש (resembling a picture or painting) · cmn 生動 /生动 (resembling a picture or painting) · de pittoresk (resembling a picture or painting)